• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2004

The Multiethnic Cohort Study was designed to study prospectively the relationship of diet and other lifestyle factors to the risk of cancer. The cohort was established in 1993-1996 in Hawaii and California (primarily Los Angeles) and included a representative sample of more than 215,000 men and women primarily from five different ethnic groups: Japanese, whites, Native Hawaiians, Latinos, and African- Americans. Because of the emphasis on diet, great attention was paid to developing and pre-testing a self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire that would adequately assess food and nutrient intakes in these groups. An extensive food composition database was also created for the study. In addition, during data collection, a calibration study was conducted that makes possible adjustment for measurement error in nutrient intakes and valid comparison of intakes across the several ethnic groups. At the present time, blood and urine specimens are being collected from cohort participants and should yield a biorepository of more than 80,000 subjects. Baseline data indicate that the cohort is well representative of the general population of Hawaii and California, so that results can be generalized. These data also show a wide range in dietary intakes and in other lifestyle variables that should facilitate the testing of etiologic hypotheses.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2019

Objectives: In the USA, certain races and ethnicities have a disproportionately higher gastric cancer burden. Selective screening might allow for earlier detection and curative resection. Among a USA-based multiracial and ethnic cohort diagnosed with non-cardia gastric cancer (NCGC), we aimed to identify factors associated with curable stage disease at diagnosis. Methods: We retrospectively identified endoscopically diagnosed and histologically confirmed cases of NCGC at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic and histologic factors, as well as grade/stage of NCGC at diagnosis were documented. The primary outcome was the frequency of curable-stage NCGC (stage 0-1a) at diagnosis in patients with versus without an endoscopy negative for malignancy prior to their index exam diagnosing NCGC. Additional factors associated with curable-stage disease at diagnosis were determined. Results: A total of 103 racially and ethnically diverse patients were included. Nearly 38% of NCGC were stage 0-Ia, 34% stage Ib-III, and 20.3% stage IV at diagnosis. A significantly higher frequency of NCGC was diagnosed in curable stages among patients who had undergone an endoscopy that was negative for malignancy prior to their index endoscopy that diagnosed NCGC, compared to patients without a negative endoscopy prior to their index exam (69.6% vs. 28.6%, p=0.003). A prior negative endoscopy was associated with 94.0% higher likelihood of diagnosing curable-stage NCGC (p=0.003). No other factors analyzed were associated with curablestage NCGC at diagnosis. Conclusions: Endoscopic screening and surveillance in select high-risk populations might increase diagnoses of curable-stage NCGC. These findings warrant confirmation in larger, prospective studies.